All posts by preemptive

August 2011: I ordered. HP canceled any new webOS hardware. My phone arrived. webOS has many innovative features and has a community capable of developing this open system to even greater heights. I hope to see it continue as an option for the discerning mobile device user.
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News Crumbs – 15th AUGUST 2016

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The toaster’s been back in action, so let’s shake out some fresh crumbs:

I need to butter these hot scones. See you next time!

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webOS futures past

LuneOS may be the future for webOS as a mobile operating system, but as we wait for it to reach beta status, we can still indulge in some wistful sighs as we wonder, “what might have been..?”

Here’s an old HP promotional video. HP Slate? With webOS?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7KUMscpNPI

The HP Slate was first released in 2010. This was actually after the acquisition of Palm that same year, though obviously the Slate had been in development for a while. Originally intended as a consumer device, HP’s first tablet was released to the business market running windows 7. The consumer tablet running webOS would become the TouchPad.

Recognising and adjusting to different Touchstones? That never happened (though it’s a functionality that could be built when your phone can connect to a charger via Bluetooth)! HP still has a tablet range under the label, ‘Slate’, so it’s possible this video was predicting a ‘webOS everywhere’ future. But it’s a safer bet this video dates from the early days of the Palm purchase when decisions about hardware and markets had yet to be finalised.

Enjoy and comment here.

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News Crumbs – 13th JULY 2016

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If you are worried that we’re running out of bread, don’t forget to donate to pivotCE. We needed to toast some buns for our barbeque, so let’s see what crumbs shake out.

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LG Friends

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LG opened it’s friends website yesterday. If you are wondering what friends are, they are plug in accessories for LG’s new G5 flagship smart-phone.

You may be wondering why these friends are being mentioned on this webOS website. No, the G5 is not a new webOS phone & it’s not an LGwebOS TV. In the smart-phone area, LG remain wedded to Android.

In a way, this concept harks back to early Palm Visor devices which could have additional, ‘Springboard’ modules added. One such item was a phone module – Yes folks, this was the start of smart-phones.

Most modern smart-phones have gone with the slab formula. The G5 is a slab & these accessories can change that form. At the moment, the accessories include an advanced sound module from B&O and an enhanced camera plug-in. There is a also a VR headset, spherical robot, 360° camera, & Harman Kardon headphones.

So what’s our interest here? It’s a bit of a long-shot: The G5, as a flagship phone is powerful. One (not impossible) accessory could be a hardware keyboard. LuneOS runs on a base of Android drivers. A G5 plus keyboard & LuneOS could give us a modern, powerful, webOS phone. Think about it: Developing a nice keyboard accessory is far easier than a whole new phone.

So there’s a website to keep an eye on in the hope a keyboard appears. You could even sign up and BE the one who makes it, although apparently all accessory development has to be done in partnership (and therefore with the permission of) LG. There is some debate about how much developer interest they will get on these accessories. I guess it will depend on the terms and LG’s own commitment to this modular approach.

Here’s a 30 second video.

So what about that image? Does it look like the devices are badly pasted onto the models? What’s with the slightly creepy green cats (The LG ‘Play-cats’)? No, I don’t know either. You can discuss it here.